Name & Shame dumb electronics company websites

[mikeselectricstuff]

Following the discussion on companies making it hard to get datasheets, how about a Name & Shame thread to highlight any electronics related website that is dumb for no good reason.

Let's see if we can get any of them to see the light.

I'll kick off with www.hitaltech.com  An enclosure company that requires registration to view drawing of their enclosures.
I emailed them to explain why this was stupid and they just emailed be back an 8MB PDF  catalogue. Muppets.

[HLA-27b]

Well

PLX Technology

Requiring you to sign Non Disclosure Agreements in order to see their f***ing datasheets.

Smegheads...

[Frangible]

Marvell - makes you sign an NDA then ignores you anyway.

[joelby]

Marvell - makes you sign an NDA then ignores you anyway.

Wow! You managed to get them to give you an NDA? They ignored my request for one.

[thmjpr]

Atmel, where you have to "register" every single time you want to download software (name, address, etc.). Also it sends the download link to your email address, so that has to be legit.

[RCMR]

GoodLuckBuy.com for advertising products, taking your money then not delivering.

Screwed me for $60 worth of gear.

Glad I held back from ordering the swag of test-gear I'm about to buy.

[Bored@Work]

rigol.com

- For not providing any service worth to mention and now requiring registration to provide no service

- For removing more and more information with every website relaunch. For example their application notes, of which only AN-014-CN can still be found somewhere on the web (but not on a rigol site)

- For moving the sparse remaining documents behind the registration wall, e.g. programming manuals

- For not providing firmware updates for download

- For not providing documents and software for older equipment

[ivan747]

TE Connectivity makes you read and agree a stupid terms and conditions thing every time you download a datasheet. You have to enter your email, register and then the link is sent to you. You have to log in and they try to fill your email inbox with stupid advertisements. You don't buy connectors the same way you buy a coke.

[Bored@Work]

Fairchild, not because their web site is ugly, but they let you register every time you want a SPICE model of one of their parts http://www.fairchildsemi.com/models/email_model_file.jsp

Mind you, they offer SPICE models for so highly advanced parts like the LM324 - an OpAmp almost 40 years old.

[Rufus]

TE Connectivity makes you read and agree a stupid terms and conditions thing every time you download a datasheet. You have to enter your email, register and then the link is sent to you. You have to log in and they try to fill your email inbox with stupid advertisements. You don't buy connectors the same way you buy a coke.

I have just been downloading some 3D models from them without much hassle. I clicked agree to some crap I didn't read. Didn't have to provide any information. Maybe you should have tried the 'No Thanks' button.

Hirose on the other hand give you this http://www.hirose-connectors.com/connectors/H310request.aspx crap. I filled in garbage details and a throw away email address and didn't get any email within half an hour so it it looks like requests are manually processed and I'm not likely to get anything. Hirose are now definitely the last place I will be looking for new designs.

[RCMR]

I see that the GoodLuckBuy.com website has been down for a day -- I wonder if it will actually come back.

Karma's a bitch -- maybe I wasn't the only one they stiffed but someone else decided not to just accept the loss!

Just as well I got burnt before I was brave enough to spend a fist-full of money on new test gear with them.  I think I'll stick to MIB Instruments who did a great job supplying my scope and logic analyzer.